Here we go again! Welcome back to the Christmas sandwich review blog. Yes, it’s already that time of year again. Where did the year go? And other such cliches.
Remember when we had a lot of fun last year by combining the World Cup with Christmas sandwiches and we got a bumper crop of reviews, fun and frolics? Well, prepare to be let down this year.
After spending some time at the beginning of November thinking about how I would top the World Cup of Christmas Sandwiches, I came to the conclusion that I won’t. Partly because I can’t think of anything good, and partly because I can’t be bothered this year. You’re lucky to be reading this as I was very close to doing nothing at all and going out on a high. Leave you wanting more and dreaming of what could’ve been. Instead, I’m going down the more disappointing “why didn’t they quit whilst they were ahead?” route. Like Marvel films after Endgame. Like Star Wars after 1983. Like heroin after your first heroin.
Unlike your favourite film or TV series which is now just embarrassingly bad but keeps rumbling on, the Christmas Sandwich review blog is NOT a greedy cash grab. It’s not even for internet clicks. No, I’m doing this out of some bizarre sense of duty for the 3 regular readers but as I said, don’t expect much. I go to the office around twice a week now so will probably get a sandwich on those days and let you know about it and, like the creators of the bad sequel to your favourite film, if you dare make any legitimate criticism about the lack of effort this I’m putting in this year I will be writing you off as a racist troll.
As I said, I was very close to not bothering this year, but there was a slight flash of inspiration that made me come back – I had seen some new, different Christmas sandwich sellers near the office! One of them was one of those automated Amazon Fresh shops without a till and has cameras watching what you pick up and all that jazz. They’ve been advertising a Christmas sandwich on the outside of the shop, so I planned to make a nice miserable review about eating one of those at the desk of my slightly boring finance software job on a Monday and moan about how all that matters is money nowadays and mega brands etc. Sadly, the Amazon shop didn’t actually have any Christmas sandwiches, not even a space for them, ruining my plans. So they’ve missed their chance, up yours, Bezzos. Don’t worry though, I can still find a way to moan about corporate greed and The Brands and we’re going to do that with a sandwich from Gail’s. Ready?
When I lived near Wanstead many moons ago, a Gail’s opened up. I didn’t know it was a chain at the time and I just thought a very nice wanky bakery, especially as Wanstead was very opposed to chains and wanted to keep a local high street. When a little Tesco opened on the high street, people protested outside it for quite a while! So I was pretty miffed when I found out it was a chain. I felt lied to. Tricked. Hoodwinked. And now they seem to be popping up fucking everywhere and my instinct is to hate their guts. Yet here I am today, reviewing one of their sandwiches for the first time because I saw a sign about their Christmas sandwich outside the one in Spitalfields and it beats eating the same Christmas sandwiches I’ve been eating from every supermarket for so many, many years. You just can’t win, it’s all pointless. Why have I decided to do this again?
When I went into Gail’s, there were not many people in there but then a fairly big queue formed behind me instantly and everyone was there for this sandwich from what I could get from the awful colleague level office banter in the queue. Gail’s didn’t list the ingredients in the shop so I didn’t see them until I got back in the office and googled searched online for them. I couldn’t believe my eyes.
Free-range smoked turkey with Mayfield Swiss cheese, spicy homemade chipotle mayo and, of course, homemade bacon jam on Waste-Less sourdough
Now that is a poncey and presumptuous list of ingredients, with awful over familiar corporate chummy speak. Despicable. My first thought before taking a bite was that Swiss cheese and chipotle mayo do not say Christmas to me but I know I am a sucker for bacon jam, which I could eat straight from the jar with a spoon, so I kept an open mind.
I have to report that this is a great sandwich – the bacon jam hits you straight away and there is a nice hit of spice from the mayo. It also has really nice cheese and great slices of turkey. A debut sandwich for the blog and also a great sandwich – what a good start! But… is it a Christmas sandwich? Currently the jury is out. Gail’s performance in the rankings this year is really going to depend upon the competition
I normally take a few bites of a sandwich, thrash out the review and then finish the sandwich. Today, as I continue to eat the sandwich, I have reopened the review to say that it really is a cracking sandwich. I still don’t know if it’s truly a Christmas sandwich, but I think you should go out and get one.
Christmas Sandwich Reviews 